The Driver Suit Blog-Every Great Uniform Needs Gloves and Shoes To Match Revisited Part 2

By David G. Firestone

Every so often, I like to revisit articles I did previously, and fix mistakes I made. For the next couple of weeks, I’m going to to revisit an article I did called “Every Great Uniform Needs Gloves and Shoes To Match.” This concerned a pair of Hut Stricklin gloves and Scott Riggs shoes. This was my first foray in to racing gloves and shoes. I made a lot of mistakes, so I’ll fix them. This week, the Scott Riggs shoes.

Shoes are as important as gloves in terms of fire protection. Those 10 seconds of fire protection are critical for the driver to get out of a burning car. The basic design of the shoes are meant to help the driver, well, drive. Some drivers in years past have opted for nontraditional racing shoes, such as Dave Marcus who was well-known for wearing wingtips while racing.

Shoes vary from racing category to racing category. Different racing categories need different shoes. For example, a pair of shoes worn in NASCAR differs from a pair worn in a Top Fuel Dragster. There are also other variations, such as the NHRA Funny Car over boots. This example is from Tony Pedregon. Scott Riggs raced in the top three NASCAR series from 1999 until 2014. He had a decent amount of success, with 4 wins in the Xfinity Series, Nashville and Fontana in 2002, and Gateway and Nashville in 2003. In the Truck Series, he has 5 wins, Martinsville, Dover, Kentucky, Nashville, and Cicero in 2001, along with a 5th place finish in 2001. He had 4 top 5’s and 16 top 10’s in the Cup Series.

From 2004 to 2007, Riggs had a little success in the Cup Series. Riggs scored four top 5’s, 5th in Dover in 2004, 4th at the 2005 Daytona 400, 2nd at the second Michigan race in 2005, and 4th at the second Bristol race of 2006. During that time, he also had 15 top 10’s at that time. During that time, he wore these blue and SFI 3.3/5 racing shoes. The shoes show a decent amount of use, and are autographed. The soles of the shoes show heavy wear, and material loss.

The right shoe features staining, scuff marks, and has been signed by Riggs on the silver. The left shoe features staining, scuff marks, and has been signed by Riggs on the silver. Next week, a racing balaclava.

Author: dgf2099

I'm just a normal guy who collects race-worn driver suits, helmets, sheet metal, and other race-worn items. I will use this blog to help collectors, and race fans alike understand the various aspects of driver suits and helmets, and commentate on paint schemes. View all posts by dgf2099